Ontario Votes: Liberals hold on to fortress Toronto

The provincial Liberals have defended their Toronto fortress, claiming victory in all but five of 22 ridings.

The New Democrats took the balance, leaving the Progressive Conservatives — who have failed to make inroads in Toronto since the Harris days — shut out of the 416 battleground once again.

Heading into the vote, the question loomed large as to whether the combined Tory-NDP surge that cracked the federal Liberal stronghold in the spring election would translate provincially. The answer from the electorate was a resounding no.

“The voters have said stay the course,” said Liberal Donna Cansfield, who won an easy victory over her Progressive Conservative challenger in Etobicoke Centre. Ms. Cansfield cheered her party’s solid victory in Toronto, which she lauded as the “heart” and economic engine of Ontario.

“The one thing consistently throughout is we actually had a vision for the future of the province, and we spoke about moving forward and giving people hope,” Ms. Cansfield said. “This is an incredibly difficult time in the world. People need consistency, stability.”

A number of high-profile MPPs who held Cabinet posts in the previous Dalton McGuinty government easily sailed to victory, including Glen Murray (Toronto Centre), Eric Hoskins (St. Paul’s) and Margarett Best (Scarborough-Guildwood).

In Don Valley West, Liberal Kathleen Wynne, who served as Transportation Minister, crushed her Tory challenger, veteran journalist Andrea Mandel-Campbell, winning by a ratio of about two to one.

“I am very happy and humbled, very gratified that Don Valley West has returned me to Queen’s Park,” Ms. Wynne said in an interview, her voice nearly drowned out by cheering supporters. “It’s a vindication of the work that we have done in the riding and across the province.”

Brad Duguid, who held the post of Energy Minister, expressed similar sentiments after handing a sound defeat to Tory challenger Carol Williams.

“The people of Ontario chose to recognize that it’s better to… stay on track and build for a stronger, healthier future for Ontario,” Mr. Duguid said.

Liberal Sarah Thomson lost in a squeaker to NDP candidate Rosario Marchese in Trinity-Spadina, after the pair fought a neck-and-neck battle throughout the night. Many pundits had called the race in favour of the incumbent, Mr. Marchese, as the riding is solid ground for the New Democrats; federally, it is home to MP Olivia Chow, the wife of late party leader Jack Layton.

But few predicted it would be so close. Ms. Thomson mounted a formidable challenge, bolstered by her name recognition from last year’s mayoral campaign. Though Ms. Thomson dropped out of the mayoral race early to back Liberal heavyweight George Smitherman, she impressed many observers with her performance.

Davenport was the only riding to change hands, with New Democrat Jonah Schein scoring a narrow victory over Liberal Cristina Martins. The riding opened up when veteran Liberal Tony Ruprecht retired.

In York South-Weston, one of the closest races of the night, Liberal incumbent Laura Albanese trumpted New Democrat Paul Ferreira by fewer than 1,000 votes.

New Democrats Peter Tabuns (Toronto-Danforth), Michael Prue (Beaches-East York) and Cheri DiNovo (Parkdale-High Park) were all re-elected in their home ridings.

“I’m very pleased with what happened, how it unfolded. It was a tough fight,” Mr. Prue said. “We knew it was tougher than most going in, but everything worked out.”

At dissolution, the Liberals held 15 of Toronto’s 22 seats and the New Democrats four, with three formerly Liberal seats open.